Lifting assist devices, which may also be referred to as load balancing hoists, are used in a variety of industries to help operators manually position relatively heavy loads efficiently and ergonomically. For example, lift assist devices are used in airports to help baggage handlers move luggage between various conveyor lines and transport carts. Lift assist devices are also used in manufacturing assembly plants to help workers move and position components relative to a work piece being assembled. Although the structure of a lifting assist device can vary, typical designs utilize electrical or pneumatic power to raise and lower a hoisting cable to which a load is attached. In use, an operator will raise or lower the load using the lift assist device until the load is at a desired height. Once positioned, the lift assist device can counterbalance the weight of the load, leaving the load in a suspended position and permitting the operator to manually manipulate the load at the suspended height.
In some applications, lift assist devices are used with auxiliary lifting features, such as vacuum attachment connectors, that can quickly suction/attach a load to the lift assist device and release the load once positioned at a desired location. In these applications, a vacuum hose may extend from a vacuum source to the vacuum attachment connectors positioned at the end of the lift device. Since typical lift assist devices are not themselves weight balanced, they cannot be attached to swivel as an operator rotates around the lift assist device. As a result, during use when an operator rotates loads and moves around the lift assist device, the vacuum hose can become tangled with the lift device itself, necessitating work stoppage to untangle the vacuum hose from the lift assist device.